List of Famous people born in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Aline Focken is a German freestyle wrestler. She won the world title in the 69 kg division in 2014 and a bronze medal in the 67 kg category at the 2013 European Championships. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she competed in the 69 kg division where she finished in 9th place.

Günter Wallraff is a German writer and undercover journalist.

Pierre-Michel Lasogga is a German footballer who plays as a centre-forward for Al-Arabi in Qatar.

Kerem Demirbay is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. A former youth international for Turkey, Demirbay switched to represent Germany.

Marianne Viktoria Armgard Helene Doria Freifrau von Weizsäcker is the widow of Richard von Weizsäcker, the President of West Germany and reunited Germany from 1984 to 1994.

Vera Int-Veen is a German TV producer and television presenter.

Barbara Rittner is a former professional tennis player who comes from Germany. She currently is the captain of the German Fed Cup team. Her career-high singles ranking was No. 24 in the world, achieved on 1 February 1993.

Navid Kermani is a German writer and orientalist. He is the author of several novels as well as books and essays on Islam, the Middle East and Christian-Muslim dialogue. He has won numerous prizes for his literary and academic work, including the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade on 18 June 2015.

Dilara Hava Tunç, known professionally as Hava, is a German rapper and singer of Bosnian and Turkish descent.

Savaş Yurderi, known by his stage name Kool Savas, is a German rapper and hip hop artist. Along with Taktlo$$, he formed the highly influential German rap duo Westberlin Maskulin (1997–2000). He was also a founding member of the German rap crew Masters of Rap in 1996. Savas is considered one of the most successful German rappers.